A guide to Rugby Union.

Rugby Union.



In this guide, I'm going to be explaining the ins and outs of the popular contact sport that is rugby. From what I can gather, rugby isn't as widely played or appriciated in the USA as it is here in Eurpoe, Canada, Australia or New Zeland which is a shame. Probably the easiest way for an American new to the sport to understand the general concept would be to compare rugby to American football but without the armour and with massive tac-tic differences.

There are two types of rugby, Union and League. I am going to cover rugby union. There are only slight differences between the two, I play and am more knowledgeable about union.

Basic aspects of the game:

♦ Each match lasts for 80 minutes, 40 minutes each way.
♦ The objective of the game is to score a try (made by putting downward pressure on the ball on or behind the opponent's try line line). The ball must be in contact with the player for a try to count.
♦ There are usually 15 players on each team, however, this can be changed to 12, 10 or 7s depending on the type of game you are playing.
♦ You may only pass the ball backwards!
♦ If someone fails to catch the ball when recieving a pass and the ball is knocked forward, this is known as a "knock-on" and the opposition is awarded a scrum.


The pitch.

♦ The pitch size varies from pitch to pitch. It is no more than 100m long and 70m wide though.



♦ The Half Way line is used to make sure each team is in its own half when the match begins, restarts after a try or drop goal and when the match resumes play after half time.
♦ The Ten Meter line is simply 10 meters away from the half way line.
♦ The Twenty Two meter line is similar, only 22 meters away from the half way line.
♦ The Try Line is perhaps the most important line of the game. To score, you have to place the ball inbetween the opposition's Try and Dead Ball line.
♦ Dead Ball Line, if the ball travels past this line. The game is restarted with a scrum 5 meters from the try line, or a 22 drop out.
♦ If the ball crosses this line then play is restarted with a line out.

Positions in rugby.


First of all, the players are split up into..

♦ The Forwards: 1 (Lose-Head Prop), 2 (Hooker), 3 (Tight-Head Prop), 4 (Second Row), 5 (Second Row), 6 (Blindside Flanker), 7 (Openside Flanker) and 8 (Number Eight)
♦ Half Backs: 9 (Scrum Half) and 10 (Fly Half)
♦ The Backs: 11 (Left Wing), 12 (Inside Centre), 13 (Outside Centre), 14 (Right Wing) and 15 (Full Back)


Jobs of each positions.

♦ The forwards' job to win the ball and either break through the opposing defence themselves or feed the ball out to the backs. It is their job to protect and win the ball at the breakdowns (Rucks + Mauls - More on these later)
♦ The forwards are the players who scrumage for posetion in the scrums (More on scrums later)
♦The Half Backs are the link between the forwards and the backs, although the Fly Half (Numebr 10) is often considered as a back. It is the Scrum Half's job to feel the ball out of the scrums and breakdowns to the Fly Half, and the backs.
♦The backs are often the speed demons within the team. It is their job to score, as well as defend when the opposition have the ball.


Scoring.

♦ The most common way of scoring is the Try. These are worth 5 points, and involve placing the ball down past the oposition's try line.
♦ After a try is scored, that team is awarded a conversion, the chance to score an extra two points by kicking the ball through the posts.
♦ Another way of scoring, worth 3 points, is a drop goal. A player kicks the ball from hand, through the oppositions posts. However, the ball must be dropped, it must hit the floor and then be kicked for this to be a legal way of scoring.
♦ Penalty's are awarded when a player commits a serious foul. The ball may be kicked from a penalty, if the ball goes inbetween the posts, 3 poins are awarded.



Tackling.

♦ My favourite part of the game. A play with possession of the ball may be tackeled. The tackle must be below the neck, otherwise a penalty is awarded against the tackler.
♦ When the tackled player hits the floor, the ball must be released. Often, players will present the ball to make it easier for their teams forwards to win the ball after a tackle. This is legal.
♦ There are a few different types of tackle.. A smother or wrap tackle: this is when the tackler wraps the ball carriers arms to stop him offloading the ball to a team mate during the tackle. The tackler then wrestles the ball carrier to the floor. Dump tackle, where a player is lifted off their feet by the tackler and dumped.
♦ It is legal for the ball carrier to 'Hand-Off' the tackler. This means the tackler is kept at arms length, by using a straight arm.



Scrums.

♦ The eight forwards from each team form one 'unit' and push against the oppositions forwards.
♦ The scrum half of the team who was been awarded the scrum places the ball in the centre of the scrum. The ref will "blow-up" if he feels that the scrum half is 'feeding' the ball to his team.
♦ The Hooker will try to hook the ball back whilst the rest of the team push forwards.
♦ If the ball is won, the scrum half will come round the back of the scrum where the ball has appeared and will pass the ball out to the Fly Half.
♦ The players not involved in the scrums must stand five meters back, otherwise they are offside.



Line Outs

♦ The team awarded the line out can decide how many players to put in the line out, between three and seven players. This number is then matched by the opposition.
♦ The players from each side line up with a gap of a meter in between the two teams.
♦ The hooker, representing the team who has won the line out, then thrown the ball down the middle of the two lines and the players compete for the ball.
♦ Players are usually lifted to give their team a better chance at recieving the ball.
♦ The ball is passed to the Scrum Half who then passes the ball to the Fly Half, or runs with the ball.
♦ The players who are not involved in the line out (Usually the backs) have to stand ten meters back, otherwise they are offside.



Breakdowns

♦ Breakdown is the term used to describe mauls and rucks colectively.
♦ A maul is when a player has been tackled, but isn't going down. Other players will try to rip, or maul the ball from him. The longer Mauls go on for, the more players join. Eventually, if the ref feels like no-one is making progress, he will blow up and award a scrum to the team that had posetion of the ball at the start of the maul.
♦ A ruck is formed when a tackle has been made. The ball is on the floor after the ball carrier has released the ball in the tackle. The players try to Push the opposition players off the ball, and 'Ruck' the ball back using their feet only. Hands may not be used in the ruck. For the player on the bottom of the ruck, this is often a painful time.



Thanks for reading.. I could go into much more detail, but I thought I'd just do a beginners guide
​

 

This is great for a rooke who is thinking of joining a team to me its common sence

Anyways great guide!

 

Fantastic guide, a good ammount of detail for someone looking to get into the sport. Everything was well-explained and you covered the basics of the game.

You said you'd mention it later, but didn't, just thought I'd point it out for you. It doesn't really need to be explained in much detail, just a short statement like you said above, should be fine.

There are a few grammar mistakes too, I'll point them out to save you the trouble.

Good guide though, I enjoyed it.

 

Thanks very much for pointing them out. Corrected them.

Thanks for your feedback too, I appreciate it.

 

Rugby League is better anyway .

Nice guide for those who don't understand this game, like many who have never played it aha.

 

Nowai. Rugby League is stoppy and starty.. I used to play it and It's good to play, but really horrible to watch.

Thanks for the feedback too.